Dream Oldies Music Lyrics

The Dream oldies music lyrics was written by Johnny Mercer and over the years has become another one of my favorites by Mercer. 

While seaching for the next great classic song or one of those great Doo-Wop street corner sounds, I came across an old Johnny Mercer tune I have overlooked far too long.

Many years ago while stationed overseas in the service the song "Pretty Woman,"  a current hit at the time, was being played about every 15 seconds by someone in our military barracks. This was 1964 at Clark Air Base, Philippines. 

One of the guys had an album by Roy Orbison titled "In Dreams." He told me the album came out about a year prior to the "Pretty Woman" hit and contained a few songs on the album he enjoyed more.  One in particular was the song, "Dream."

Surprisingly, this G.I. had a turntable hooked up in his room and asked if I'd like to listen to his album. He started with side two and the first song was "Dream."

I just stared at the record when I heard Roy Orbison singing this wonderful old Johnny Mercer song from 1944. What a fantastic cover of this beautiful melody and perfect pitch by Orbison.

The song reminds me of those glamours movie stars such as Rita Hayworth, pictured here, and Marilyn Monroe.  As a young man I would "Dream" about those actresses who graced the big screen in the '40s, '50s, and early '60s.

The one thing they all shared was a level of glamour we still aspire to today.

What more can you say, the Johnnie Mercer lyrics and melodies are ageless. This is a song everyone should have in their music collection.

The song "Dream" was originally written as a theme for Mercer's radio program. The Pied Pipers, with lead singer June Hutton, recorded the song in 1945 and it became a major hit.

Their version and the Frank Sinatra version are the two I remember listening to in the fifties, but it is the Roy Orbison cover of  this WWII classic that I enjoy the most.  

Here is the cover by Roy Obison, a version I still enjoy today as much as when I first heard the original recording many years ago. 

I think you will agree this is a very nice cover of this beautiful song from 1944.

Johnny Mercer has always been my favorite songwriter, at least since "Moon River" became one of the theme songs for our high school graduation in 1962.  

In 1961, he wrote "Moon River" (music by Henry Mancini) for the film Breakfast at Tiffany's, winning his third Academy Award.

And the next year, he became the first songwriter to win a fourth Oscar, this time for the title song to the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses (music again by Mancini).

Mercer wrote hit songs in four different decades, from the 1930s through the 1960s.

He was the founding president of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 1942, together with fellow songwriter (and film producer) Buddy De Sylva and businessman Glen Wallichs, he founded Capitol Records and became Capitol's first President and chief talent scout.  

Mercer received 19 Academy Award Nominations and 4 Oscars with over 1,500 written songs. 

Johnny Mercer died on June 25, 1976 in Los Angeles, California. He was 66.